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About Me

I’ve been cooking as long as I can remember, professionally since I was 17. I love everything about food, and spent my life pursuing it. I was an apprentice pastry chef in Innsbruck Austria before I even went to cooking school. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America I became a full fledged Pastry Chef for a high end country club, and love it as I did there was so much more to be done, which eventually led me to catering. My catering company is just what I want it to be; I get to do something different everyday either in the kitchen or helping a bride design her ideal wedding or just researching new recipes out of my own imagination.
If you would like more details about my career, please the About page on my website www.SonomaCaterers.com.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Here's my January column from the Petaluma Post. I usually wait until mid-month to re-publish their articles, but this one is the start of a series this month. It's that time of year when we try to make up for what we ate over the holidays. Hubby says he's a spoiled dieter; I don't like my food to be bland or boring, so he gets a rather gourmet treatment for a diet. So the theme this month is what makes a good meal and what makes a healthy meal and how they fit together. There will be lots of recipes, too. I'll aim at writing 2 or 3 per week to keep your menus fresh for the whole month. Enjoy...

Pumpkin pie, stuffing, Christmas cookies, if you are
anything like me just the thought of foods that are rich and sweet are probably
not sounding too appetizing this time of year.As we head into January everyone has had their fill of treats and
goodies, time to get back to basics.Whether you are hitting the gym or just trying to eat better, here are a
few hints from my kitchen.Healthy
cuisine or “diet food” does not have to be boring or bland.

Roasting and Grilling
vs. Sautéing

I love butter, there is no question, but when trying to cut
back on the fat I often turn to other forms of cooking that don’t require so
much fat.Taking the time to roast meats
adds an extra layer of flavor from caramelization that can make up for the loss
of butter you would have used sautéing.This
caramelization (despite the name) does not need any added sugar, it just takes
advantage of the natural chemistry of the meat to bump up the flavor.You could also brave the chilly weather and turn
on the barbeque, even just searing your meats and veggies on the grill and
finishing them in the oven will add that extra flavor.But no BBQ sauce, yummy, but often with lots
of sugar and fat; instead try a dry rub.Our most popular dry rub at the catering company is:

PSC’s Signature Dry
Rub

1 cups Brown Sugar

½ cup Kosher Salt

2 Tbl Paprika

2 Tbl Chili Powder

2 Tbl Black Pepper

2 Tbl Granulated Garlic

2 Tbl Granulated Onion

2 Tbl Italian Seasoning

1 tsp Cayenne

Just mix all the ingredients together.Stores well in an air tight container.

Change up the
vegetables to keep the plate full and bright

It is the middle of January and all of your favorite summer
vegetables are not around, but look for something new and bright, they may cost
a bit more but your saving money not eating out.Buy the beautiful red bell pepper, try some
purple carrots, use a variety on the plate.Color adds eye appeal and you know they say that you eat with your eyes
first.Don’t use just one vegetable on
your plate, make a couple separate vegetable dishes; perhaps replace a starch
with another veg.Also think about a
different cooking method, for instance roasting cauliflower is incredible.

Roast Cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets

2 Tbl olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Toss the florets with olive oil, salt and pepper, layout a single
layer and roast at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes until golden and tender.Very good.

Switch to whole grains, avoid the
whites

We have been hearing this for years now, and it really is
true.Whole grains take longer to
breakdown so you will feel fuller longer, and your blood sugar will be more
stable.They take more time to cook and
in our busy world you might not have time to simmer barley for an hour, but I
often will cook grains on my day off and just have them on hand in the fridge
to reheat during the week.With the
heartier texture they also reheat better than rice or pasta.If the day has been really hectic you can
also just add them to a quick can of soup to make it hearty enough for meal.

Barley Risotto

Barley preparation

Simmer 1 cup of barley in 3 cups of water or stock for
approximately 50 minutes, till tender.This can be done up to 5 days in advance and refrigerated.

Sauté onions, garlic, mushrooms and thyme in olive oil.Add the barley and stir well.Then add in the chicken stock ¼ cup at a time
and allow to reduce.Repeat until barley
is tender and creamy.The total cooking
time is about 15 minutes.

This column is the beginning of a set of blogs I’ll be
posting throughout January for the healthy gourmet.See my blog two or three times a week this
month for fresh ideas.Blog.SonomaCaterers.com. I’m already
looking forward to some miso-glazed salmon, and tilapia tacos, and my almost
savory instead of sweet black cocoa cookies; all good choices for this time of
year.

An apple a day, it’s true. Try adding one in approximately 1
hour before your major meal to help offset eating too much from being overly
hungry.But remember to keep up the
creativity; if you are going to eat healthy and want it to last, you need good
food and an ever changing variety.